


Four Firsts and a Forever

by smittenbritain



Series: RT Writing Community Secret Santa [4]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Achievement Hunter Kings, Festivals, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-02
Updated: 2019-08-02
Packaged: 2020-07-29 07:29:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20078443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smittenbritain/pseuds/smittenbritain
Summary: Each season had its own celebration, and it was tradition that the current ruler would arrange it all. Michael was just glad that he was only the prince right now; he could still run around and actually enjoy the festival.The summer one was his favourite. After all, it was where he shared so many firsts with Geoff.





	Four Firsts and a Forever

**Author's Note:**

  * For [JustAddSalt](https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustAddSalt/gifts).

> Here's my Secret Sunshine fic for Orion! Hope you enjoy!

The summer had been good, thick, and hot; it made the air feel sort of syrupy to move through, and with the added sweetness of the newly blooming flowers, it continually drew thoughts of freshly baked pies, all warm and dripping with fruit and sauce. The best ones were made at this time of the year, all in preparation for the summer festival.

Each season had its own celebration, and they were held at the end, just as it began to fade into the next - so, now, August was on its last legs, and autumn wouldn’t be far behind with its own treasures. 

Right now, though, the summer celebration was about to get into full swing. Michael could watch from his quarters, peering out across the castle grounds to see the town below, where people swarmed to set up their stalls and show off their wares. Laughter floated through the warm air and reached him even from here, and it brought a smile to Michael’s face. He could barely wait to get downstairs and get his hands on sweets and trinkets.

Coincidentally, the summer festival also happened to be Michael’s favourite. 

After all, it was where he shared so many firsts with Geoff.

* * *

Naturally, top of the list was meeting Geoff. It marked the beginning of the next few years of firsts.

It was tradition that the current ruler would arrange each festival. There were decisions to be made, attractions to arrange, plans to set in motion, and all of it fell on the shoulders of the king or queen. While the last few centuries had been kind enough to grant them a string of benevolent rulers, the reasoning behind the tradition remained the same: giving back to the kingdom as thanks for the efforts throughout the season.

Michael thought it was sweet, but he was glad that he was only the prince right now. Sure, he had to show his face for official business, but he still got to run around and actually _ enjoy _ the festival - and enjoy it he did, weighing himself down with crafts and filling his stomach with as much pie as he could eat.

Evening was drawing in now, though, bringing the coolness of the night with it. It was a welcome relief from the hammering heat; Michael had been doing his best to beat it all day, trapped as he was inside his heavy armour. He’d had more than his fair share of icy lemonade from his favourite tavern’s stand, and he was on his way to grab another now in an effort to be comfortable, at long last. There was nothing quite like sitting back with a cold drink just as the temperature began to drop again.

Most people had trickled away from the stalls by now, instead gathering in the square in preparation for the evening’s entertainment. A local band had offered to take the stage to continue the festivities, and Michael could distantly hear them tuning up under the babble of the crowd. He’d watch from the sidelines, he decided, rather than risk overheating again from the thick throng of people. It meant that the stall was relatively empty, though, except for the bartender and one other customer.

The latter had his back to Michael, but he could pick out one detail instantly: tattoos swirling their way up both of the stranger’s arms until they disappeared under his short sleeves. 

He turned when Michael approached the stall, and he offered him a lazy, warm smile. His eyes were a brilliant, sharp blue, already dancing with mirth; the festival just tended to have that effect on people, Michael had noticed, but there was no mistaking the laughter lines etched into the sides of the man’s face.

“Hey,” he greeted, offering Michael a hand. “Aren’t you gonna go watch the band?”

It was… oddly informal. Michael couldn’t tell if he just didn’t know that Michael was the prince, or if he didn’t care. Either way, it was wonderfully refreshing; he couldn’t remember the last time he’d had an interaction like this outside of his existing friends.

So, Michael took the man’s hand and gave it a shake. His palms were warm and soft, he noticed.

“Maybe,” Michael said, shrugging a shoulder. He placed his order, and then leaned against the makeshift bar to better face the man. “Looks like it’ll be hell over there, though.”

“True,” he chuckled, sipping his own drink. He was having a lemonade, too. “You’ll still be able to hear them over here anyway.”

It sounded like an invitation, and Michael was inclined to accept it.

Once his drink arrived, Michael took a seat with the stranger. “I’m Michael,” he offered, taking a sip. The rush of cool lemonade was such a blessing; Michael closed his eyes for a moment just to appreciate it.

“Geoff,” the man said, smiling at him again. “They’re good, huh?”

“This is, like, my fifth of the day,” Michael admitted. 

Geoff laughed. The sound was utterly delightful, and sent Michael’s stomach flipping inside him. “I don’t blame you. This summer’s been _ so _ fucking hot, and these things are the only way I’ve found to properly cool down.”

“Try wearing armour in this heat.” Michael huffed as he raised his drink to his lips, grateful once again for the cold liquid. “It’s hell,” he said, once he’d swallowed. “I’m so fucking stuffy, it’s ridiculous.”

Geoff frowned at him. “Why wear it? Why not just take it off?”

Michael rapped his knuckles against the firm metal across his chest. “Protection,” he said simply. “Not supposed to leave the castle without it.” Really, he could probably get away without wearing it - given the decades of peaceful rulers, it was highly unlikely that anybody would make an attempt on the life of the man next in line - but it was better to be safe than sorry. He’d heard enough stern words from the queen to last him a lifetime.

“Ah. Man, I don’t envy you.” Geoff shook his head, a look of pity on his face. “Still, at least they let you out, huh?”

“I guess.”

Silence rushed over the crowd, starting at the front by the stage and rippling to the very back, as far as Geoff and Michael. They turned towards the hush, peering over the heads of the gathered townsfolk in an effort to see the musicians. It was a decent enough view from back here, and as the band started up to the tune of a cheer from the crowd, Geoff turned to Michael and asked, “Wanna watch from back here? I’ll buy you another drink.”

Michael couldn’t think of a better way to spend the evening, so he grinned and said, “Absolutely.”

* * *

Their second summer together brought the next two firsts: their first date and their first kiss.

They spent the year between becoming fast friends, and then, eventually, hesitantly courting. It was easy for anyone to see that there was something there, another unspoken layer over the initial platonic bond, but neither of them dared to break the silence just yet. It was both too sweet and thrilling, and Michael’s chest swelled with the knowledge that Geoff wasn’t just here for his title. He’d proven that at the last summer festival, and then time and again throughout their blooming friendship. 

That changed though, just before the start of the summer festival. It was a mere few days off when Michael decided to approach Geoff.

He found Geoff in his little bookshop, tucked away at the desk in the corner with a book in his hands. Michael couldn’t help pausing to admire the picture he made: his shoulders subtly curved as he leaned back in his chair, idly rubbing a thumb against his scruffy jaw. It spurred Michael onwards, giving him the courage to say what he wanted to.

Geoff looked up at the sound of Michael’s footsteps, and a smile spread across his face. “Hey, Michael.”

Michael’s heart jumped in his chest. “Hey, Geoff. How’s it going?”

“Quiet.” Geoff neatly tucked a bookmark into the pages, and then set his book down, satisfied. “So, a perfect day. What about you?”

“Oh, you know. Walking around, pretending to be helpful. The usual.” 

Michael’s duties leaned more towards appearances rather than anything official, at least for now. Currently, the queen was dealing with the preparation for the festival, and there wasn’t much else to be done in their peaceful realm, so Michael kept finding himself with free time on his hands. 

He’d spent almost all of it with Geoff.

The festival. Michael looked away from Geoff, pretending to browse the bookshelves idly as he spoke. “So, uh, you got any plans for the festival?”

“I wasn’t planning anything more complicated than last year. Why?”

This was the moment. Michael took a slow, deep breath, and turned on his heel to face Geoff again. His friend was watching him from the desk, head cocked and eyebrows drawn together just a little in idle curiosity. How the _ hell _ did he manage to be so handsome in the simplest of moments? It would be intimidating if he wasn’t also so completely adorable.

Michael rocked on his heels as he teetered on the edge for just a moment... and then he tumbled over it, helplessly, desperately.

“I was wondering if you’d like to go together,” he said, sounding calmer than he felt. 

Geoff’s expression was unreadable. He’d always been an open book to Michael - it was one of the many things he admired about Geoff - but he was also capable of holding his cards close to his chest until he knew which ones to lay out. Michael had learned that it was nothing personal, but instead, it was Geoff making an attempt to read carefully. “Like on a date?”

“As a date,” Michael confirmed, nodding once. “Not a public thing, just… like last year, but as a date. If you want.”

To Michael’s intense relief, a smile spread across Geoff’s face. It was the soft, warm kind that reached his eyes and lit up the whole room. He felt the butterflies leave his stomach, fluttering up into his chest and beating at his ribcage instead. “I’d like that, Michael,” Geoff said. “Honestly, I was gonna ask you the same thing.”

Michael huffed out a quiet breath. “Really?”

“Really,” Geoff promised, faintly amused. “You look like you’re gonna pass out, Michael. Were you really that nervous?”

Now that he’d loosened up, Michael moved over to Geoff’s desk to take the empty seat opposite him. “I actually thought I was doing a pretty good job of hiding it.”

Geoff gave him a look, one that was somewhere between amused and doubtful. “I could tell you were tense as fuck from the moment you walked in. You definitely weren’t doing a good job of hiding it.”

All Michael could do was raise his arms in an exaggerated shrug. “You caught me,” he said, smiling somewhat sheepishly once he’d lowered his hands again. “I was trying to be a little more subtle. I didn’t want the whole fucking town to know I was about to ask you out on a date. I figured you’d wanna keep things quiet for a little while.”

“Well,” Geoff said, placing his fingertips on the desk, “flowers would’ve been nice, too.” 

He was struggling to hold back a laugh; Michael could see it in the way the corners of his mouth twitched upwards. It broke through when Michael laughed. “Sure, because _ that _ wouldn’t have been obvious.”

“I hate to break it to you, Michael, but you’ve been obvious the whole damn time,” Geoff teased. He reached across the desk though, brushing his hand against Michael’s. The light touch sent an electric tingle across his skin. Once their chuckling faded, Geoff quietly added, “But I probably was, too.”

In the quiet of Geoff’s shop, Michael turned his hand over, and he twined their fingers together. 

* * *

Their first date spanned most of the week. They spent their time moving throughout the festival as a pair, sampling food and buying trinkets, watching performances and listening to music. They kept their public affection to a minimum, but there was no mistaking the fond glances they shared, or the way one of them smiled when he made the other laugh. Michael felt something throb in his chest every time their eyes met over their third, fourth, fifth lemonade, and he could tell by the way Geoff would smile and then glance away that he felt it, too. 

By the end of the week, they had had enough of the crowds. After a muttered conversation over their lunch, Geoff took Michael by the hand and led him back to the quiet of the bookshop. The door had barely closed before Michael leaned in to close the gap, and they shared their first kiss almost on the exact spot where Michael had confessed. 

* * *

Their first public appearance as a couple came the following year. They’d had time to settle into their relationship, and Michael would be the first to admit that he’d never been happier. He didn’t even mind the secrecy; while he could be loud and confident in front of a crowd, Michael treasured the peace of Geoff’s bookshop, or the castle library, or the quiet of his personal quarters. Considering the queen was gradually giving him more active roles in everything to prepare him for his eventual leadership, though, Michael and Geoff thought it would be fitting to at least confirm the rumours that had been sneaking around the town. 

They decided on something simple, yet effective. No words would be necessary, really, and that was the way Michael wanted it. He didn’t want anyone to pry or ask questions; he just wanted them to know. 

Their chance came at the festival’s closing ceremony: a party, one that started slow, and then became a night long dance. The current leader and the next in line were always the ones to open it - so long as they had someone to dance with, one that was usually a partner of some kind, whether it was simply the beginning of a courtship or something more serious.

First and foremost, though, they had to show thanks to the season for being bountiful; it was a speech Michael had heard many times before, though it was always tweaked just enough to fit the current year. He tuned out the queen’s speech, choosing instead to subtly look for Geoff on the sidelines.

But as the current queen finished speaking and stepped aside, Michael focused again, and he fell in line to follow her to the edge of the dancefloor. He watched as she took the hand of her wife, and the pair of them flowed out into the open space of the town square to dance for the first few beats of the song, solo. They were a beautiful pair, and it was only emphasised by the bright colours they wore to symbolise the fruits and flowers of the summer. 

A hand brushed against his own. Michael recognised it, and he slipped his fingers into the gaps between Geoff’s.

“You ready?” he murmured.

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Geoff breathed back. “How long have we gotta do this for until we can sneak off?”

“A couple of songs. We’ve gotta wait until the party kicks in.”

A stringed instrument picked up the pace, and Michael snapped his mouth shut. 

It was their cue.

Michael wasn’t sure why he was hesitating. He could feel the same nerves holding Geoff tight, leaving his partner holding his hand a little tighter than he usually did. They hadn’t even stepped onto the floor yet, and Michael could already feel eyes straying towards them; he hadn’t participated in the opening dance before - he’d never had anyone he wanted to share it with - so, of course, people had noticed him waiting patiently for an opening.

As if sensing their combined anxiety, the queen and her wife turned, pausing long enough in their dance for her to shoot Michael a small, encouraging smile. They were gone again a moment later, swept up in the music and their own affection.

He squeezed Geoff’s hand. 

Geoff squeezed back.

There was a soft murmur as they joined the dance, but not much else. As they settled into the flow, Michael caught a few fleeting glimpses of the crowd, and he only saw approving smiles. Something settled in Michael’s chest, and he finally allowed himself to sink into Geoff’s embrace as they rocked across the dancefloor together, sinking into the warmth of the music.

“This isn’t so bad,” Geoff murmured a song or two later. Others had joined in now, couples and friends alike. “I thought it’d be just us out here for longer.”“Nah, it usually fills in pretty quick.” Michael paused to glance through the crowd in an effort to spot the queen, but he couldn’t see her through the gathered people. “We can leave whenever you want. We can probably get away with it.” 

To his surprise, Geoff pulled him closer with an arm around his waist. “I think I can wait a little longer,” he said, turning his head to press a kiss against Michael’s temple. 

While Michael wouldn’t have complained about leaving the dancefloor, he didn’t mind indulging a bit more. Exhaling a long breath, he leaned in to rest his cheek against Geoff’s shoulder, and he closed his eyes as the lingering summer heat and music rolled through the first gentle autumn breeze.

* * *

The forever was simple, and came on their third summer together.

Or, rather, it was at the end of that third summer. The festival had come and gone, and Michael had tucked himself in next to Geoff in his bookshop for some rest. Unlike the previous year, they had stayed for most of the night, hanging out with friends and partying the night away. The quiet of Geoff’s bookshop was positively wonderful after all of that, and they each had a book in hand to flick through as they whiled away the time in an effort to wait out the soupy summer heat - until Geoff broke the silence.

“Hey, Michael.”“Mm?”

“Say we got married,” Geoff began slowly. “What would I have to do as the king’s husband?”

Michael blinked at his page, suddenly forgetting everything he’d just read. “What?”

“You know, the queen’s wife. She’s gotta have duties too, right? So what would I do if, hypothetically speaking, we got married.”

They’d discussed marriage before, briefly and only in passing. Michael had been quick to assure Geoff that there weren’t any expectations on him to see this through if he decided it wasn’t what he wanted; he wasn’t automatically tied into this relationship for life just because he was currently dating the prince. It had come up at other times, whenever Michael had explained a rule or tradition and compared their own relationship to the queen’s as an example, but it had never been quite like _ this. _

Something was different, here. There was too much weight to Geoff’s words, like he was carefully considering something before he said it.

“Well, not much more than you already have,” Michael said. He toyed with the edge of the page idly as he tried to anticipate where this conversation was going. “A few more appearances you’d have to attend, not much else. You could advise me on whoever I pick to be king or queen after me, I guess, but it’s not like we have to raise an heir or anything. You could even keep your bookshop. You get it pretty easy.” He paused, and then added, “Why? Were you thinking about proposing or something?”

Geoff was quiet for a moment, and then, almost sheepishly, he said, “I was thinking about it, yeah. Figured I should at least do my research first, though it wouldn’t have changed things much, honestly. I was still gonna do it anyway.”

The open admittance made Michael’s head spin. It felt like all of the air had left his lungs; he had to suck in a sharp breath before he spoke. “Really?”

“Yeah.” Geoff held his gaze, steady and unwavering, searching for some kind of answer. “Only if you wanted. If it’s too soon, or you’re not interested in that, then that’s absolutely okay. You can tell me no.”

There wasn’t a doubt in Michael’s mind.

“I want to,” he said, tripping over the words in his eagerness to get them out. “Fuck yeah, I want to.”

“You’re sure? Because really, Michael, there’s no obligation-”

“I should be telling _ you, _ that, Geoff.” Michael laughed breathlessly, and he let his book drop into his lap in favour of tugging Geoff in for a firm kiss, and he only parted when he could feel Geoff’s smile against his own lips. “So does this make us engaged?”

“I guess so.” Lazy warmth was written all over Geoff’s face, and Michael couldn’t wait to see that every morning. “I should’ve gotten a ring, huh?”

“Well,” Michael said, recalling Geoff’s joke about the flowers and grinning, “it would’ve been nice-”

“You know what, I think I’ll change my mind about the whole engagement thing.”

Laughing, Michael leaned in to kiss the corner of his mouth again, snickering and teasing, and Geoff fell in to meet him for another peck, and then another, until they were simply giggling together, giddy with the promise of forever between them. 

Outside the bookshop, the sun began to set on summer, and the pair inside settled back into reading side by side, content once again to retreat into their own little bubble of joy. Soon enough, there would be announcements and preparations, but for now, it was just Michael and Geoff, basking in the warmth while the summer lasted.


End file.
